I just purchased Cairin Springs expresso flour and absolutely love the aroma and flavor. I’m used to using King Arthur bread flour, but wanted to explore a little deeper into fresh milled flours. One thing I have noticed about using this flour is that the dough is very extensible. I feel like I could stretch it forever. I am used to making dough with an 80% hydration, which is what I’ve done with this flour, but the website says to use 5% more water. The dough is rising fine but I am having a very tight crumb. Could this be that my hydration should really be around 85-86%? do I need more stretching for strength and better shaping? Or a combination of all 3?
To answer the questions;
Different flours will react differently so treat them differently. Something you get used to over time. Enjoy!
Are you using the T85 Expresso or the WG Expresso?
The 5% extra is for moving to the T85 from a white flour recipe.
IF you have the WG Expresso, then you might need to add up to another 5% water.
I'd do that by bassinage, kneading in water. Weigh a cup of water before and after
Longer autolyse also helps w T85 and WG.